Use sub-domain to transition old site to new?

[keyon]

I'm starting the process of changing over an existing website to a new domain (301 redirect), and I'm trying to decide where to temporarily locate the "new" site -- at least until such time that the search engines have indexed the new urls, and I can take down the old pages.

My web host suggested that I create a sub-domain on the old domain site, and just build the new pages there. I guess the idea is that after I'm done building the new site, I could somehow switch it over to being the primary domain.

Does this sound feasible?

Thanks

[Glen Lawrence]

If you're paying for a package that allows for multiple domains on the same hosting provider, why not make an entirely new database for your new domain? I don't understand why you need to create a sub-domain for this.

[keyon]

If you're paying for a package that allows for multiple domains...
I'm no expert on web server technology, but it was my understanding that when web hosts offer "multiple domains" on one account (or add-on domains), you are essentially creating sub-domains of your primary account website -- which are then redirected to whatever domain name you wish to direct it to. The whole process is still a little fuzzy to me, so I could be wrong about this.

[weegillis]

And to extend what @keyon posted, all of your domains and subdomains reside in the same host root directory. All you need to do is create a folder for the new site, point at it with a subdomain, create and point to a new database (most multiple domain plans come with dozens available on demand) and build and test away. Either block the sub-domain with server config or robots.txt (on that sub-domain root) or just make sure it never has any IBL's the robots can find.

Construct your redirect directives as you go, and keep it ready for the big day. When you're ready to launch, just go to your hosting control panel and point your main domain to the new folder. You can then simply delete the sub-domain. Nothing in your host root folder will change. Your site root will now be in the new folder, and you can drop in your redirect directives and you're away.

[keyon]

Thanks, weegillis.
I'll give it a try.

[defensity]

Perhaps I'm not getting this... but

Since it's a NEW domain, why not put the new pages on the new domain?
Not understanding why you are messing with sub domains

[weegillis]

Perhaps I'm not getting this... but

Since it's a NEW domain, why not put the new pages on the new domain?
Not understanding why you are messing with sub domains

One of us is not getting it, but it's not clear yet, whom? The OP says right in it -- New Domain -- and I ran headlong into a spiel about replacing a site on the same domain. If in fact it is a new domain, then I agree, just start with it and go from there. If it is in fact a single domain swap out, then my above post stands.

[Glen Lawrence]

I stand corrected. I never tried it myself, but that "Create a new database" button always made me think I could make a new domain that isn't actually a sub-domain. I thought I was paying extra for the ability to create completely new domains on the same account.

[weegillis]

Even a basic hosting plan usually comes with a handful of available databases of some such size with so many tables each. How else can you have a site and blog on the same domain?

[ronchalice]

I have several hosting plans, all of which allow multiple domains. They all have a single database space (e.g. instance of MySQL) but an instance can contain any number of databases. When you use the host management tool to create a new database, it is just creating a new set of related tables in the existing instance.

When I add a new domain to the account, a subdomain and directory are created but the new domain behaves to the outside world just like it's on it's own server. The only restriction from my host is that the new domain must live in a top level folder in the account root.

It's all pretty simple.

[keyon]

One of us is not getting it, but it's not clear yet, whom?
Sorry if I'm creating confusion here.
What I'm wanting to do is fairly common -- I have an exisiting website for which I want to change the domain name. That's it, just the domain name. All pages and directories within that site will remain the same.

However, the articles I read online about doing this specifically say that before I implement at permanent redirect, I should first create the new site -- under the new domain. I assume this means both sites (old domain site, new domain site) would be running live at the same time, at least initially.

This raises the question of where I should locate the "new" site, at least during the transition period.

[weegillis]

Okay, now we are straight. Thanks for clearing that up, @keyon. New domain it is.

Regardless what you do, the general consensus as I read it here is that you will lose some PR and authority because of the age of the new domain compared to the old. Might we ask why the move to a new domain?

[keyon]

Might we ask why the move to a new domain?
It's because my existing domain name doesn't include any of my targeted keywords.
I know, some people say this isn't a deal breaker by any means. Problem is I've had only limited success getting my internal pages (which are keyword optimized) to rank in the serps, even with a fairly decent inbound link profile that spans several years. In contrast, I've recently published several smaller sites (that do have keyword-optimized domains) that quickly outranked all the pages on my old site within just a couple months, despite a relatively weak IBL profile. They seem to be holding their ground. Doesn't make sense to me, but I have to believe the domain name helps -- a lot.

[weegillis]

I see. Can't add to that from any of my own experience. The jury is out on keyword domains as far as I can tell, but your experience does stand for something, in your case. You are taking a leap of faith, though. Hope it works.

You won't want your new site to be visible until you're ready to switch over, right? That way you can propagate the new domain and set up permanent redirects from the old domain (keeping it up for the time) to the new on the same day. One redirect on the domain is all you would need if you are keeping all the URL's. Your mod_rewrite should be able to swap out the domain without touching the rest of the URL. Make sure [R=301].

I would start with a dummy folder (host prepared) until the domain appears online, then point to the new folder in your CP. Put your re-direct into effect immediately.